Case study: Junior reflects on mock trial, considers implications of clubs being used as college fodder alone

October 15, 2019 — by Kaitlyn Tsai

Junior recounts struggles with past officers’ lack of effort, stresses importance of joining clubs for genuine reasons rather than for college applications.

Two years ago, I squeezed my way through a sea of elbows and backpacks to the mock trial table at Club Day. Although none of my friends signed up with me, I typed in my name and contact information without a second thought, eager for some exposure to the field of law (and hopefully an opportunity for my confused freshman self to determine what I wanted to do in life).

As one of the only three freshmen on the team and one of the lowest-scoring members in competitions, I didn’t plan to apply for an officer position once the season ended. But when I thought of how much I had learned and bonded with other team members during the competition season, I decided to fill out an application. Somehow, I talked my way through an interview and, to my surprise, landed a position as club secretary, the single sophomore officer working alongside six upperclassmen, five of whom were seniors. 

Initially, my naivete clouded my judgment and convinced me that the seniors, having spent the longest time in mock trial, would nurture the club to its full potential despite the loss of our attorney-coaches several months prior. Within the first two weeks of the new season, they proved me wrong. 

To address our loss of professional coaching, club adviser Matt Torrens gave us three options: join practices with West Valley’s mock trial team, which had already started preparing for the competition; continue participating in scrimmages and the county competition, coaching the members ourselves; or turn mock trial into an experience club in which officers would teach members about mock trial, run simulated trials of the previous year’s case and organize educational activities.

None of us wanted to join practices with West Valley because they likely had all their roles filled, which would only render our members a burden. Besides, practicing with West Valley meant having to accommodate their schedules — an effort and commitment that would likely have resulted in students dropping out of the club. 

The junior officer and I wanted the seniors to tackle the second option: coach the members ourselves. Challenging other schools, we reasoned, would prevent new members from feeling cheated of the competitions they had expected when signing up. Coaching new members wouldn’t be too difficult — the team was already largely self-run, with attorney-coaches merely offering further advice — and would also give officers opportunities for growth and developing stronger leadership skills.

However, four of the five seniors, disagreed and their viewpoint prevailed. They argued that coaching would place extra stress on the officers, some of whom apparently did not highly prioritize mock trial. If we followed the third option and turned the club into an experience club, both members and officers would have more fun; besides, they added, they wanted the club to focus on learning rather than competitions.

Though I didn’t verbalize my thoughts, a hunch told me that the seniors, busy with college applications, had simply chosen the option that would require the least amount of work. This being their last year at Saratoga High, what did it matter to them how the club turned out anyway? 

“Let’s not break ourselves to get participation for next year,” one senior officer had said — right in front of the junior and me. “Next year isn’t our problem; it’s up to those in officer positions next year.”

Although we officers reached a compromise to try to scrimmage in January, that indifference was the attitude that tainted the club from then on. Ultimately, it resulted in a lack of engagement from other members and our failure to even host a full run-through of the case we studied, never mind participate in scrimmages.

This “next year isn’t our problem” mindset also reflected how the seniors likely applied for officer positions in order to pad their college applications and add another activity to their checklists. And quite frankly, this seems the most common reason to join clubs. Throughout the years, numerous clubs have risen and fallen due to their officers’ and members’ lack of true commitment. 

More problems arise when students accept that they and their peers start or join clubs for the sole purpose of college applications. Numerous officers advertise their clubs with “officer positions open!” because they know students want leadership positions for their college applications. 

While such strategies work for increasing club membership, they take the wrong approach. Incentivizing others to join a club out of a desire for leadership positions rather than out of genuine interest defeats the purpose of clubs. 

This lack of genuine interest underscores the situation that mock trial faced. Because we lost several experienced members who dropped the club when they didn’t obtain officer positions, and because so many of our officers simply didn’t care enough to shoulder the responsibilities necessary to keep the club thriving, mock trial almost completely collapsed by the end of the season.

The indifferent, college-centered attitudes toward clubs also perpetuate the competitive, “toxic” environment that so many students at Saratoga High complain about — which is ironic, given that clubs should act as a means of relieving stress, exploring one’s passions and bonding with peers who share similar interests. However, many students treat them as just another item to place on their college resumes, and sometimes, out of desperation to embellish their applications, even sacrifice close relationships with friends or fellow club members for the sake of obtaining leadership positions.

Before starting or joining a club or applying for an officer position, students should seriously contemplate their motives for doing so. In the end, clubs are just clubs — not items on your college application checklist that you completely discard once you’re a senior, but rather organizations that bring together students who share common interests over a longer period than just four years. 

At the end of the day, college is simply one small stop in life. It’s foolish to allow your obsession with attending a certain school prevent you from truly appreciating what could be invaluable — and enjoyable — high school experiences. 

As for me, I’m fighting alongside my fellow officers to keep mock trial alive, and I’m loving every stressful, difficult step we take. 

Realistically, we’ll probably skip the county competition again this year as well because we almost couldn’t secure a new club adviser, never mind an attorney-coach. But we’re still aiming for scrimmages, still aiming to pass on our experiences and knowledge of mock trial to new members. We’re using this year to prepare for next year — hunting for an attorney-coach, teaching new members objections and rules of the court, running simulated trials and hopefully scrimmaging against other schools. 

I don’t care if officers need to spend time outside of school practicing and preparing presentations in order to coach new members; I don’t care how much work we’ll have to put into keeping them engaged. Being able to bond with our members, fuel their interest in law and provide them with the best experiences we can matters the most to me — as it should for all club officers.

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